A Bone-Chilling Place?

“We the bones that are here for yours we are waiting.” This is the message at the entrance to the Chapel of Bones in évora, Portugal. Initiated by three Franciscan monks and built in the 17th century, the Capela dos Ossos de évora (Chapel of Bones) is in the Alentejo region of the country and is located in a separate building within the Church of St. Francis (S?o Francisco) complex.

Sad? Morbid? Grotesque?

This chapel is on the must-see list of many tourists. In high season, there are busloads of curious folks who come to see the bones. On a recent visit, I watched people taking selfies and posing for pictures with the bones as a backdrop to post on social media. For me, somehow, that didn’t seem right since this is a place of eternal rest, but who am I to judge.

Is it really a bone-chilling place?

I’m not sure people really understand the reason for the bone chapel. Although many may view this display as a Halloween-ish bone-chilling tourist attraction, or something sad, morbid, or grotesque, it was not uncommon in earlier times for bone chapels and ossuaries to exist in many parts of Europe. Space was limited in small European cemeteries, so it was common to exhume human remains after a certain number of years to make room for others to be buried. Over time, the display of the exhumed bones and skulls became a frequent practice as a symbol and reminder to the local citizenry of the transience of life. In fact, there are five more bone chapels in Portugal, and throughout Europe there are many more.

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